Grounded
by Sarcasma
Summary: As Harry and Ron are flying their way to school in the stolen Ford Anglia, there is a friendship developing far below them... perhaps even due to the absence of the 'guys'. Please R


**Grounded**

Ginny Weasley sat in her own compartment in the back. _"Wait for Ron, he'll come and help you with what you need,"_ their mother had told her. So she did as she was told, biting her bottom lip while looking out the window at her mum who—instead of waving goodbye to her—was looking around the platform with her dad. She sighed and turned to open her diary; one she was sure her parents had picked up second hand, knowing she had already filled her other one. That had been after quite a row about not being able to get one, seeing as they all needed Lockhart books. They had promised her a new one if she kept up with her chores all summer and Ginny had… but to no reward. She had given up on the argument after seeing her mum crying at the kitchen table late one night as her father was away working another full night. That stopped Ginny's worry about getting one at all, but it seemed that they had managed to find one whose previous owner hadn't been much of a journalist.

Ginny's mind wandered to everything that had happened since Harry's stay at The Burrow. She thought about what happened at the bookstore… being called his girlfriend… if that had only been true. _Maybe that's why they didn't come and find me_, Ginny thought, taking out a ruffled-up quill and some ink. She let a bit drop onto the page. She watched as it sunk in. Her brows furrowed as she dipped the end of the quill in ink again and started on her entry. _Dear diary_.

This too disappeared. Her first inclination was that this was some kind of prank that Fred and George had pulled, then she thought that this was perhaps the reason that it wasn't written in. She was about to chuck it into her trunk when writing in a different color came back.

_My name is Tom._

Ginny looked curiously on the writing until it disappeared. She closed the book, looking on the front where it said 'T. M. Riddle'. "Tom," she said aloud, then opened it to the first page again.

_Hi_, she wrote, _my name is Ginny_.

It had just sunk in when the compartment door slid open. Ginny slammed the book shut and looked over to see an older girl with wavy brown hair and a large smile standing in the door frame. "Hi," she said, recognizing the girl from Diagon Alley.

"You're Ron's little sister, aren't you?" she asked. "I don't think we've been properly introduced; my name is Hermione Granger."

"Hi," Ginny said. "My name's Ginny."

"Good to meet you," Hermione responded. "I like you're name, it's simple."

"Well, really, it's Ginevra, but could you imagine being called that all the time?" she asked, growing comfortable as she set the diary aside.

"At least you can shorten yours," Hermione pointed out. "I suppose having an interesting name sets one apart from the crowd, though," she added. "You haven't seen your brother or Harry have you?"

Ginny shook her head. "I thought they must have gone to sit with you," she said.

"That's odd," Hermione said. "I thought I had heard your mum say something about sitting with you when we were getting tea at the Leaky Cauldron."

"They wouldn't want to sit with me," Ginny said, looking down and blushing.

"Why on Earth not?" Hermione asked.

"Well… I… nothing," Ginny said.

Hermione took another step into the compartment. "Do you mind if I join you? Since those two don't seem to have saved me a place anywhere else?"

"S-sure," Ginny said with a half-hearted grin. "So you're friends with Ron and … and Harry then?" she asked, blushing at the second name.

"Yes," Hermione said. "Sometimes I wonder why, and then I remember the troll."

"Troll?" Ginny asked, flushing from red to a pale white. "So you… you really do have to… to see which house…"

"Oh no, don't be silly," Hermione said. "Who told you that?"

"My older brothers…. Fred and George."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "You'd think they would remember how nerve racking your first term would be, they wouldn't try and make it worse."

"Fred and George always like a good laugh," Ginny defended.

"So I've noticed," Hermione said. "No, they just put the sorting hat on you—"

"The sorting hat?" Ginny asked.

"It's just a hat that can talk… after it does its song, each student puts it on and it tells them which house they're going to go into," she explained.

"It sings?" Ginny asked, eyes wide.

Hermione explained all she had learned about the hat and more, down to the very feeling of when it's placed on your head. Ginny was grateful for this, but still nervous. What if she was sorted into somewhere other than Gryffindor? Her entire family had been in Gryffindor, but what if she wasn't? What if she was different from them? She was, after all, the only girl. She shared these concerns with Hermione who just shook her head. "I doubt that. You must be rather brave if you thought you'd have to face a troll and still ended up on the train."

Ginny smiled. She didn't know why Ron hadn't mentioned a whole lot about her the year prior, but soon discovered the contention that had been placed between the two the year before, and when they had made up (which explained the troll comment). When the trolley came around, Ginny smiled with a 'no thank you', getting out her own corned beef sandwich as her stomach grumbled. This particular meal wasn't Ginny's favorite, but she appreciated that her mum would make them something for the ride. What she was really anticipating was the feast that would come later. For now, the sandwich would suffice.

"Would you like some carrots?" Hermione offered. She had purchased a few treats, but seemed to have an abundance of carrot and celery sticks, along with crackers and cheese. In exchange for some of these, Ginny shared her sandwich as Hermione continued to explain Hogwarts to Ginny.

"You'll have to watch out for the stairs, of course," Hermione said.

"Why's that?"

"They like to move every so often," she said, "but don't worry, you'll learn to navigate them soon enough," she added at seeing Ginny's worried expression.

"I hope so," Ginny said, still looking concerned. An idea popped into her head… this girl was the same age as Harry… spent a lot of time with him… "You aren't… I mean to say you don't… fancy anyone? Do you?"

"No," Hermione said. "Not really, at least. Why?"

"I just thought that you might be seeing… someone," Ginny said with a blush, looking down.

Hermione laughed. "I'm not dating Harry, if that's what you mean."

"What?" Ginny asked. "Really?"

"No," Hermione said. "I got that from my aunt all summer…. I would mention Harry and she'd ask if that's who I was dating… I'd mention Ron and…" Ginny noticed a bit of pink come to Hermione's cheeks. "Well, any time I'd mention any boy I'd get patronized about it to death. I started to stick to girls."

"How do they know your gate doesn't swing that way?" Ginny said jokingly, then covered her mouth. "I'm sorry, I was kidding… probably not right thing to say."

Hermione started laughing, however. "I should have brought that up to them," she exclaimed. "That would have shut them up at least." Ginny joined in laughing. "So do you fancy Harry then?"

Ginny went beat red… she could feel it. "Well… sort of. I don't exactly know him, you know and… I don't think he'd like a skinny little first year anyway," she excused.

"I don't know," Hermione said. "I think you two might get along fine."

This made Ginny smile and lit a small candle of hope inside of her. "I don't think he's interested in girls at all, right now," Hermione added. "Just give it a bit of time, you never know."

_You never know_ would become Ginny's motto for the next few years, and she smiled inwardly at the words. "Dad really liked talking to your parents," Ginny said. "He didn't stop talking about it since we left Diagon Alley."

Hermione smiled at the change of topic. "Other than the little fight, I think my parents were quite impressed as well."

"Dad's not usually like that… it was because he was being provoked by—"

"Malfoy and his dad, I know," Hermione said. "I explained that to them."

"Oh good," Ginny said.

"I think it helped them become comfortable with me being here… seeing an adult wizard. They saw a lot, I know, but actually meeting one," she said.

Hogwarts could be seen in the distance: a shadowy figure of a castle in the dimming light of the sun. "We're almost there," Ginny said, anxious.

"We'd better get changed then," Hermione said. Checking her watch. "You'll be going with Hagrid on the boats and then when they sort you, you can come sit next to me, if you want," she offered.

"That's if I'm sorted into Gryffindor," Ginny corrected.

"You will be," Hermione said with a smile. "I'm sure of it."

* * *

A/N: I just thought about doing something that showed what those two were doing as Harry and Ron were flying in the Anglia. YAY FOR FLYING CARS! So yeah… just a little one shot with an idea that was playing through my mind! Hope you all enjoyed. (If you did, you know the drill… REVIEW… if you didn't, you know the drill… REVIEW! Thanks) 


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